I know that December tends to be a time to purchase gifts for friends and family members. But Shopping kind of sucks. Instead, go to a show?
Thursday, December 6th
El Gavachillo, Regimen Sinaloense at Elbo Room
El Gavachillo is a side project of Wil-Dog from Ozomatli. It’s a band that does classic punk covers in a classic banda style. I’m expecting that this show will feature a lot of folks in white cowboy hats moshing.
Walk The Moon, Atlas Genius, Foster The People (DJ Set) at Mezzanine
Bloc Party, Dum Dum Girls at The Fox Theater – Oakland
Friday, December 7th
Jack White, The Shins, Metric, Of Monsters and Men, The Gaslight Anthem, Two Door Cinema Club at Oracle Arena
Live 105 always impresses with their Not So Silent Night line up, but this year they really outdone themselves. They split in amongst two days, and each night is very distinct. The first night is much more guitar driven, featuring three of the best riff rock acts out there: The Gaslight Anthem, Metric, and mr Jack White. Sprinkle that with the more atmospheric acts: The Shins, Of Monsters and Men and Two Door Cinema Club, and you have an incredibly well rounded evening of music.
Turbo Fruits, CCR Headcleaner, White Lung at Bottom Of The Hill
Saturday, December 8th
Ozomatli, Puyepongo, Kanetic Source at The Fillmore
Ozomatli are the best live band around. End of story. They play The Fillmore every December, and these shows are always incredibly special, filled with guests, and they are immensely fun.
HR (of Bad Brains), Luicidal (of Suicidal Tendencies), Long Beach Rehab (of Long Beach Dub All Stars) at 924 Gilman
Advance ticket sales for a show at Gilman? Must be huge then!
The Killers, M83, Passion Pit, Tegan & Sara, Grouplove, Imagine Dragons at Oracle Arena
Sunday, December 9th
John Cale, Cass McCombs at The Regency Ballroom
John Cale has taken over for Lou Reed as the most active former member of Velvet Underground. And he is now performing music as different as can be from his classic project, experimenting with electronica and hip hop, and creating something for more interesting than his former bandmate Lou has done in decades.
Kopecky Family Band, Yellow Dress Band at Brick & Mortar Music Hall
Monday, December 10th
Antibalas at Great American Music Hall
Brooklyn Afrobeat icons Antibalas have spent the last four years functioning as the band for the hit Broadway show Fela!, which is great for the people of New York, but kind of a bummer for the rest of us. So, happily, this year they have resumed functioning as an actual touring band. They put out an excellent new record that is a great, politically charged piece of African dance music with a classical soul twist.
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, Dee 1 at The Regency Ballroom
Tuesday, December 11th
Lavender Diamond, Jessica Pratt at The Chapel
Lavender Diamond is the alias of Becky Stark, a great singer/songwriter that has spent the last few years putting her main project on the back burner so she could tour with John C Reilly, The Decemberists, and She & Him. Happily, she is playing San Francisco’s newest venue, The Chapel, a beautiful venue that is nearly acoustically perfect. It’s also only $10, which makes this show a steal!
The Sword, Gypsyhawk, American Sharks at The Independent
Wednesday, December 12th
Santigold, White Arrows at The Fox Theater – Oakland
Santigold burst onto the scene as the chief rival to MIA. Since 2007, however, MIA has been struggling to live up to her original hype, whereas Santigold records keep getting more interesting. She has exceeded MIA in both popularity and critical acclaim, and deserves all of it.
